Head for more drinks. Hannah chats about her summer in Romania helping disabled children using 'intense interaction'. Staring in their eyes and shit.

Try to give her a high five en route to the bar but she's not having it – thinks it's naff. All her good work with Romanian children is being undone.

It's getting late. Walk her to the station where I go in for a snog under the shadow of an unlit bus shelter. She doesn't retreat.

Twist strands of her hair round my fingers. Girls like that.

"I've had a nice night," she says. "Have you?"

"Er, yes. It's been ace. I really like you, Hannah."

With that she boards her bus. I wave goodbye as it pulls away but she doesn't see. Busy texting someone.

Spend the entire taxi ride home thinking through our six hours together. Not the best date I've ever been on - but a long way from the worst. Come up with some pros and cons.

Pro: She helps mental kids in Romania. Con: She doesn't like cats. Pro: She's got a lovely smile. Con: She's never seen The Office and doesn't know who Feargal Sharkey is. Pro: She made me laugh - though I'd had three Coronas at the time. Con: She wouldn't give me a high five. Pro: She's young and I can mould her.

Ah, who am I kidding? Leave it 'til morning then text asking if she wants to do something at the weekend.

Approximately two hours and 13 minutes later my phone beeps. Her reply reads:

Look, thanks for a nice night. Thing is, I was kind of seeing someone a few weeks back and I think it might be back on. Sorry for messing you around x

That's an attempted 'nice way to brush you off' from a girl if ever I heard one.

Still, a 6 hour date? Blimey you've got staying power. Fatal mistake letting the girl pick which bar to go to though. My friends and I are all in agreement that the bloke should ALWAYS pick the venue for a first date - we like you to be masterful and decisive you see, or at least pretend to be for a bit if you're not.

Still, you got a snog out of it and she wasn't a minger so it's not all bad :-)

It doesn't read like you were really into her, or she into you. Whether or not she actually had someone else come up in her shagging radar, it was good of her to bail. Rejection stings, but it's better than forcing something that isn't there.

Yeah, that was a brush off. When she said that she thought the guy picked the bar what she meant was "I prefer that men pick the place." You put her on the spot a number of times, doing things that probably gave her pause wondering what your end game was. i.e. when the bill came, telling her to pick the bar, the high fives. Did you want to date her or play rugby with her?

I'm with Bamberio (and others) - 6 hours?! I have a strict 2 hr exit strategy for all first dates. Leave something for next time.

Still, she shouldn't have sent that text on her own; she could have sent it if you had reached back out to her first. Why say you're not interested when no one has expressed additional interest in you?

Omfg, that's a brilliant excuse to use, thanks Fish! I might pull that reason out of the bag next time I don't want to continue seeing a guy I just met online...umm....not that that is what she did to you...err....Gotta go! x

Dude, I feel for you. It's worthy of a post on my blog, and hopefully I won't have to write about something like that. What a total bitch for doing that to you when you were more invested than she was.

Just discovered your blog. Very nice. I have been with a great girl for 4 years now and we are getting married next year. Believe it or not, we 'met' on PlentyofFish.com. Needless to say, this blog holds a special spot in my heart. Look forward to the next post.

About the author

Plentymorefishoutofwater

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Hello, I'm Fishy. I'm 29, I'm from the north of England and I own a depressed and arthritic cat called Mildred. My friend Mark says I go on more first dates than anyone he knows - and fewer second. This is my dating blog (last updated in 2011). Send enquiries to jimmy-rice@hotmail.co.uk or visit jimmyrice.org.